About

Hello there. Thanks for stopping by.

My name is Vina and I am a woman on a simple yet seemingly impossible mission: to build a nourishing home for myself and my family. I want Life to flow in our home so that Life can also flow out. And to do that, I need to be a Life-giving force as well, in my own little quiet introverted intuitive feeling perceptive way.

My mission is simple because everything I do comes under a single unifying purpose. Will it grow, nurture, breathe life? Easy, not so much. Because we live in a culture where:

• we have a lot of information, but not much Truth nor Wisdom.
• we’ve lost the sense of Sacredness in our lives.
• we like to compare and be better than the other instead of accepting and celebrating each other.
• we have a lot of fancy distractions.
• we’re obsessed with getting things done and striving after the elusive Perfect.
• we are too busy and preoccupied to enter into the natural rhythms of the Creator and his creation.
• we don’t have a whole lot of good and simple real-life models to follow after.
• we’ve forgotten who we truly are.

All of the stuff that imitates Life at best, and kills it at worst. It’s a vicious cycle, because all of these start at home where new life begins, new marriages are made, new families are started, new generations are ushered.

(That, and the fact that I am a certified domestically-challenged-freak-of-nature. Often, I don’t feel like I belong here. At home. The role absolutely terrifies me. Some days, I want to run. Or I just hope the real person in charge to show up soon. Oh pretty please God.)

And so in this blog, I will share my journey of becoming the nourishing hand and heart of this household, given these overwhelming challenges. I write not as an expert but a struggling sojourner, sharing insights and stories for your encouragement and mine.

Topics

• Nourishing Ourselves: I am passionate about living well and taking care of myself first. I believe that when we live within our Design, we find Joy regardless of our circumstance. I am on a journey towards living a more authentic life and practice a Spirituality rooted in Truth, Beauty and Grace.
• Nourishing Food: I am an avid learner of Everyday Nutrition and Holistic Health. I am passionate about Real and Traditional Foods and am moving towards a more Sustainable way of eating and feeding my family. I am a beginning cook who likes to maintain a minimalist kitchen.
• Nourishing Work: I am a rookie entrepreneur who is on the fast-track to learning about transformational business, mindful marketing and social media. I believe that home entrepreneurship for women, and mothers in particular, is the Third and Viable Option between the Full-time Working Mom who wants to Stay At Home, and the Stay at Home Mom who wants to keep working. I am obsessed about finding my True Vocation in life and desire to leave a strong legacy of Calling and Purposeful Prosperity to my family. I am an advocate of offering our Superpowers to the world with class and in generosity.
• Nourishing Lifestyle: I am interested in exploring home management and  mothering in the context of everyday justice. I like to declutter a lot and live as simply as possible, so I can be free to truly enjoy Life and be generous. I am a slow student of natural and sustainable living.
• Nourishing Families: I am passionate about mindful and wholehearted mothering. I am an advocate of simple childhood, slow family lifestyle, attached and authentic parenting. I also like to delve in marriage and intimacy, especially in the context of children and parenting.

My Nourishing Philosophies and Beliefs

I don’t subscribe to one particular life/parenting philosophy although I am inspired by a few. I hope to learn from the wisdom of many parents and others who think outside the box. So please feel free to share your own.

I am a follower of Jesus, but I don’t readily identify with mainstream American Christianity, nor am I a huge fan of institutions and organized religions. I believe that there is more to be learned from each other, more Wisdom we can ever possibly possess if we venture out of the confines of Tradition. I am more an advocate of mothering from the heart and of listening to our children. I like the idea of growing through motherhood and marriage more than perfecting my roles in either. I advocate questions and doubts alongside faith and trust. I have a need to look to the Creator and his entire creation as my Guide. I am hopeful that I can live out the messiness of my life in a beautiful way. I trust in Redemption. I want to learn from Life with grace and humility.

I believe and hope that we when cultivate a life of simplicity and authenticity, we are then free to offer our creativity and generosity to others and the world. I’m a long ways from where I want to be, but I’m on my way there. And I hope you will join me.

About Me

I love to write as a way to discover who I am, to find Truth and meaning and to make space for thoughts and ideas that make the mind stronger and the heart more tender.

I’m also wife to Steve, mom to Naomi and a life-long friend to those who accept me fully and have gotten past my inconsistencies in life.

My family lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and we love it here. For the most part. I grew up in the Philippines for half of my life and lived in China for a few years after college. I still dream of living overseas again one day with my family, but for now, this is home.

I tend to forget to brush my teeth sometimes. Once, I had to ask for help finding scallions at the grocery store (now I know what they are!) I don’t really notice the dust that accumulates on top of our furniture. I like to move our furniture around, on the average once a month. I voluntarily lived on just a little bit above the minimum wage after college for a good six years.

I often see the glass half-empty and am more well-versed about the painful things in life than the fleeting moments of joy. And I believe that there is a gift to be offered in that. If offered in humility, and in hope for better things ahead.

My Life Themes

I’m drawn to these four words that I want my life and hence this blog to be characterized by: simplicity, authenticity, creativity and generosity. They help me focus on what to work on bits by bits every day, because everyday I am tempted to complicate, pretend, consume and hoard instead.

Simplicity  

I’ve grown quite a lot in simplicity the past few years especially after having lived overseas during my post-college years. It’s also my natural bent because I am an idealist at heart and I seek after the essence of things. I want to cut through the fluff, get down to the core of Life and live from the Center. Back to the Simple and the Basics, that is all.

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci

Authenticity

Authenticity is something I am just beginning to grasp on a heart level. I’ve always known the kind of person I am, but only recently am I becoming truly comfortable in my own skin. To truly embrace who I am, the good and bad, the beautiful and the ugly. Because I’m all those things.

“This above all: To thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day. Thou canst not then be false to any man.~ Hamlet, Shakespeare

Creativity

Along with that is a rediscovery of my creativity, embracing the artist and the child in me who I have lost somewhere in life. When I participate in the act of creating, I come alive. Part of our calling as human beings is to add to the Beauty in this world.

“Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources” – Albert Einstein

Generosity

And lastly, but not least is a journey towards generosity, an other-centered life. Simplicity, authenticity and creativity leads to abundance and when it overflows, it demands to be shared. I want our family to a Life-giving force in this world. I am interested in looking at home management from a social justice and world perspective. How do our choices in our spending, eating and parenting affect the members of the bigger human family that we are all part of? How can we nourish our families in ways that are nourishing to the rest of the world as well?

“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

(Imagined) FAQS

1. Why blog?

Because I love to write. It gives me an outlet or I go insane. Or bipolar. Just a tad bit. I’d be lying if I didn’t mention how much I want to make a six-figure income from blogging, because I heard it can be done. Although on most days I just really want some trickle of change to come my way and help our little family a weensy bit. I have to mention too, that I secretly desire gaining a cult following around my mediocre writing. Oh yah, I also want to take over the world with my awesome ideas on how to live and I am hoping that maybe, just maybe, I can change the world one blog post at a time.

2. Why the title?

I want to choose Life in every aspect, whether it be in the kitchen or in my marriage or in my parenting. Even in what I watch on TV or in what I eat. An impossibly glorious pursuit, given our culture’s obsession with cheap Nourishing imitates. That and our propensity towards all things that counter Life. Some call it sin. Whatever suits you. But yes, I believe that given the right circumstance, we all are capable of doing the worst of the worst stuff on earth. Most of us have been graced with some sort of Love in our lives and that I think makes all the difference. L-O-V-E is the foundation of a nourishing home. Love for the Creator, Love for Creation, Love for each Other, Love for Truth, Love for ourselves. No matter how imperfect, awkward, messy and yes, cheesy, to Love is to Live. This is the legacy I want to leave my family and the world.

3. What makes you an expert?

I am not claiming to be one. In fact, if you are looking for an expert in matters of motherhood, marriage, family, and well, life, this is NOT the blog for you. I simply offer my own voice and perspective. I want to share the good and the bad. And the ugly too, when appropriate.

4. So why should I subscribe or continue to visit your blog?

Because you want to be friends. Because you want to show some love for an amateur writer who wants to grow through this medium. Because you have lots of insightful comments to enrich the discussions here (which hasn’t quite happened yet!). Because somehow, there’s something that speaks to you here. And hopefully enriches you a bit in some way.

5. And what exactly will you be writing about?

I hope to share about the joys and the challenges of creating a nourishing home in ways that are authentic to who we are and not try to make ourselves fit a certain mold. Because we are all so different. I like to look at things unconventionally, peel layers until I get down to the basic essence and core of something, question the status quo, connect seemingly unrelated dots, be brutally honest about my weaknesses, wander and wonder about my faith and spiritual issues, rant about my struggles and glory about all that is worth celebrating .